Maybe you just started your own business or want to start one. Or you might be thinking about starting one.

Or perhaps you are in multi-level marketing trying to build your own business and wealth.

Whatever form your entrepreneurshiptakes; there are some basic principles that you must understand in order to succeed.

Do you think you have what it takes?

Here are three basic principles that could make you or break you as an entrepreneur, depending on how you use them.

Principle # 1 – Expectations

This will break you:Unrealistic Expectations.

You have unrealistic expectations about how much time it takes to build your brand or business.

You also have unrealistic expectations as to how hard you will have to work to make it happen.

Some people will give up when they don’t see immediate results.

Some people will give it a few try’s, and then conclude it doesn’t work. They then move on to the next venture that they think will work. Only to repeat the same pattern again with the new venture.

Then there are those who are under the assumption that all they have to do is the minimal amount of work required and they will see results. They want to work part time and see full time results. After all they are their own boss now. So why should they have to work so hard.

Worse yet, there are those who think all they have to do is set up a website, make a few tweeks, and they will be on their way. This is what many refer to as a turn-key business. There is absolutely no such thing as a turn-key business. If there were, everybody would be doing it.

This will make you:Realistic Expectations.

You know it takes hard work and dedication to be a successful entrepreneur.

You are willing to work long hours.

You are willing to do what other people are not willing to do. You know you will have to give up some things you now enjoy in order to grow your business and succeed.

You know you may not see results for some time despite the many hours of hard work you put into it.

You know consistency is the key.

Tenacity will pay off eventually if you keep at it.

Principle #2 – Time Zone

This will break you:Living in a Conventional Time Zone.

The conventional time zone is a very structured time zone. It is a time zone we have been conditioned to live in since childhood.

In this time zone you know how many hours you work per week and how much you will be paid for those hours.

There is a direct correlation between the hours you work and the compensation you will receive.

If you work 40 hours ; you will be paid for 40 hours.

This will make you:Living in the Entrepreneur Time Zone.

The entrepreneur time zone is a completely different world from the conventional time zone.

If you live in the entrepreneur world with a conventional mind set; it will be very hard to succeed.

In the entrepreneur time zone you will not see a direct correlation between the hours you work and the compensation you receive.

In fact, when you are first starting out you many see very little if any compensation at all. And this is despite the long hours and hard work you put into it.

This is the entrepreneur time zone.

You will need to keep working at it despite the apparent setbacks and lack of compensation.

Tenacity is the key.

If you keep working at it, you will see results sooner or later.

Many people will give up because they don’t see immediate results.

It takes time to build any kind of entrepreneurship. Where it’s being an author, artist, or business owner. It will take some time.

Unlike the conventional time zone; compensation in the entrepreneur time zone in non-linear. Compensation is not commensurate with the number of hours you work or how much hard work you put into it.

Principle #3 – Mind Set

This will break you:Buying into the Negative Mind Set of the People Around You.

You’ve heard it before.

The negative mindset of others that is.

“Get a real job.”

“You’ll never make any money doing that.”

“You need a reality check.”

“You’re a fool.”

“I sent you to college just so you could do this?”

These are some of the phrases you might commonly hear when you tell someone your are an entrepreneur. Or that you’re thinking of becoming one.

It will help you to realize that many of the people you know most likely live in the conventional time zone.

The majority of people will buy into the dominant negative mind set popular amongst mainstream society.

The conventional mind set is not in itself negative.

It is just the mind set we are conditioned to believe in since the time we can remember that causes people to have a negative mind set around anything that doesn’t fit in with conventional “wisdom”. The unconventional path doesn’t fit in with their conditioning.

We are cultivated from the beginning to follow the path set by society.

After High School, you either get a regular job or go to college. After college, you get a regular job in which you are paid a regular hourly wage or weekly salary.

Most of the negative people around you are probably stuck in jobs they hate. But they keep doing it anyway because they are stuck in that mind set that most people buy into.

They can’t see it any other way. And can’t understand why you would.

Entrepreneurs have more vision and insight than conventionalites. (Hey, did I just create a new word?!) Anyway, the conventionalites can’t understand or see what the entrepreneur sees.

They will just think you are lazy and don’t want to work.

When nothing could be further from the truth. You actually work a lot harder as an entrepreneur than you would at a regular job.

But they can’t or won’t see that. All they see is that you are doing this thing and not making any money (at first).

So, it is easy to buy into their negativity when you are not seeing results right away.

You might start to think that perhaps they are right after all.

After all, you are not getting anywhere or making any money.

When you get discouraged, it is easier to buy into other peoples negative beliefs about entrepreneurship.

There is nothing wrong with the conventional mind set by the way.

Some people just find it easier and more feasible for there personal circumstances.

Some people don’t want to risk it all. And that is okay. You just need to decide for yourself if you do want to take the risk or not.

This will make you:Positive Mind Set.

Surround yourself as much as possible with like minded people.

Hang out with other entrepreneurs. Join some groups of like minded people. Or create one yourself.

If you are an aspiring author who is not yet published, it can be quite overwhelming on how and where to begin.

If you are a writer who has always dreamed of being published, you will need some tools to help you get there.

There are many tools out there that can help you become an author. I have listed here five essentials tools every author should have that will increase their chances of becoming a successful author.

Essential Tool #1: Website

There is some controversy about whether or not an author needs their own website. Some contend that a website is not necessary; and that you can connect on social media sites and build relationships with potential readers that way.

However, most professional authors agree that a website is necessary if you want to become an established author. Some even think it is crucial to have you own website; especially if you are a new/and or unknown author.

A website gives you your own platform. It’s important to have a presence on the internet; especially if you are a self-published author or you are planning on self-publishing.

Owning your own domain gives you a place to have your own voice and express yourself.

You can even design your own site the way you want. You get to say what happens because you own your domain.

A website gives people a place to find you. Social platforms come and go, can change policies at any time, or any other number of things.

Social media is important in building a readership and is also on this list. However, social media sites do change from time to time. And what if one or even all of them were to collapse?

Then no one would no where to find if you don’t have your own website.

So a website is an important part of establishing yourself as an author.

There are many web hosts to chose from. You can shop around for the best one for your needs.

I recommend SiteGround. They are definitely one of the best out there. SiteGround has some great deals and discounts going on right now. So if you’ve been thinking about getting your website up and running; now would be a good time to get started. You can check out great deals atSiteGround.

Essential Tool #2: E-mail List

An e-mail list is one of the most important tools of the trade. It is an essential tool for writers and authors.

An e-mail list is important for many of the same reasons a website is important.

For one, your e-mail list is your own. If social media were to collapse tomorrow; you would still have your e-mail list.

One way you can build your e-mail list is by giving your readers an opt-in offer. This basically means you offer your readers something for free in exchange for their e-mail address.

The free item can be anything that you think your readers will value. It could be a free e-book that you’ve written, a cheat sheet, or an e-mail course.

Anything you can come up with. It does not have to be elaborate. Just something simple but valuable.

Essential Tool #3: Blog

Yes! Integrate a blog on your website.

I know a blog takes time, and many writers would rather be working on their books instead of spending time writing a blog.

However, there a many good reasons to write a blog. For one, you get to showcase your writing. And it also shows your reader’s more of who you are as a person and a writer.

You are in control of your own content. You can write what you want without following anybody else’s guidelines. You’re free to express who are through your writing.

A blog is also good practice for honing your writing skills. Writing a blog will make you a better writer because you will be constantly writing and editing blog posts.

It’s up to you how often you want to post. But it is suggested that you post regularly if you want readers to find you.

If you are an unknown author, it’s also a good way to get a body of work out there. If you don’t yet have anything published; you will at least have your own writing on your blog.

If you are a fiction writer you can post some of your work and get feedback from readers. You can even post scenes you have deleted or alternate endings. Ask readers what they think. They love to be involved in the process.

Essential Tool #4: Social Media

Social Media is important for connecting with potential readers. This is where you build relationships and people get to know and trust you.

The key is to interact on social media.

Just having a social media account won’t do you much good if you are not interacting with people in order to build a readership.

There are many social media platforms to choose from and it can get pretty overwhelming.

Obviously you can’t be everywhere; and you don’t need to be. Just choose a few sites and focus on them. Otherwise you can spend your entire life on social media.

It’s also a good idea to limit the amount of time your spend on each site. Then you can spend whatever amount of time you have left for your writing.

If you choose Facebook, make sure you create an author fan page; separate from your personal page. Your personal page is just that; personal. You want to keep it as professional as possible.

One site that is absolutely essential for any author is Goodreads. This is where you will find your readers.

When you first sign up for Goodreads, you will be signing up as a reader. After you have proven yourself as a reader you can upgrade to an author account.

Again, it’s important to engage with other readers and authors and post reviews. This is how people will get to know you.

Essential Tool #5: Support Groups

One thing about being an author is you cannot do it alone. This is especially true if you are a new author.

It’s important to join some kind of support group where you can get feedback for your work and just generally get support from fellow writers and authors.

I know this may be hard if you are a shy person. It was very hard for me at first because I am a shy person. I was hesitant at first, but eventually found it to be quite helpful to be part of a group.

You may be fearful of having your work criticized and not want to join because of that. There really is nothing to fear. You will generally find most of the people in these groups to be helpful and supportive. If your don’t, find another group.

There are many writer groups on Facebook that you can join. There are also meetup groups for writers. These are mostly free groups where like minded people meet up. You can find meet ups in your area by going to meetups.com.

Choose whatever works best for you. Just know that you cannot write and publish on your own without any help from anyone. You can do some things on your own. But sooner or later you will need to collaborate to get your book out there.

At the very least you will most likely need an editor and book cover designer for your books if you want them to look as professional as possible.

If you’re on a tight budget, you can get editing and cover design for as little as 5 dollars onfivver.com.

However you go about this, it’s just important to know that you need some kind of support to get it done. Support is everything.

You may have always dreamed of becoming a writer, or an actor/actress, or a singer, or musician, or any other kind of artist.

But life happened.

You may have married and had kids.

You have always had to work a regular job to make ends meet.

You needed to go to school to get a degree.

Your mind set was never in the right place.

Or, any other number of things might have demanded your time and attention.

And you never had time to pursue your dream.

But now you are ready.

You would like to finally start doing what you have always dreamed of. Whether it’s being a writer, actor, singer, musician, painter, artist, etc., etc. etc. … Whatever it is; you are ready to do what you have always wanted to do.

It’s your turn now. It’s your turn to do what you have always wanted to do. You are ready.

But…

Self-doubt rears it’s ugly head.

Suddenly you are overwhelmed with fears and insecurities that prevent you from even starting in the first place.

Self-doubts rise to the surface. What if…..? What if…..? What if…..?

Here are 5 of the most common fears and insecurities that rise to the surface when self-doubt rears its ugly head and prevents you from pursuing your dreams.

Self-doubt #1: It’s too late.

This is usually one of the first self-doubts that pop up when you consider pursuing your dream of becoming a writer or any other kind of artist.

It usually looks something like this:

“It’s too late to start now.”

“I’m too old to start now.”

“You have to start when your young.”

“I’ll look like a fool starting at this age.”

“Do you know how old I’ll be by the time I learn to ________ ?”

Yes. The same age you will be anyway.

You are never too old to be an artist. Especially a writer. In fact you are likely to be a better writer because you have a lot more life experience than your younger counterparts.

That does not mean a younger person cannot be a good writer. There are many talented young writers out there. It’s just that you will have your life experience to add to the mix.

And nothing speaks like experience.

Self-doubt #2: You doubt you can take yourself seriously as an artist.

You feel like a fraud compared to all the other “real” artists out there.

You wonder how you can seriously call yourself a writer or artist without feeling like a fraud.

You may even feel like you have nerve for calling yourself an artist when there are so many other “real” artists out there.

These other people are “real” artists; whereas your just pretending or hoping to be one.

They are afraid they will be found out for the frauds they really are.

So if you suffer from imposter syndrome; the solution is to realize that other people suffer from it as well.

Even very successful people.

Self-doubt #3: You’re afraid you will never be as good as the other writers and artists out there.

You feel intimidated by all the talented artists and writers out there.

You are sure your work can never measure up, or be as good.

Feeling intimidated usually stems from comparing your work to that of accomplished artists.

Here are some examples:

*You compare your rough draft to a completed and published novel.

*You compare your rough sketches to a Picasso painting.

*Your a beginning actor comparing your acting skills to that of Al Pacino or some other famous actor.

Well anyway; you get the picture.

You are basically comparing your beginning work to that of accomplished artists.

The solution here is to allow yourself to be a beginner.

You have to start somewhere.

And yes, you will probably make plenty of mistakes. This is good; as making mistakes is the only way you will learn to do it better.

Start with baby steps.

If you keep practicing your craft whatever it is; you will eventually become very good at it.

But for now, just take baby steps and allow yourself to be a beginner.

Self-doubt #4: You doubt you will ever have enough money to pursue your dream.

You don’t need any money to begin.

All you need is your passion and a willingness to start where you are.

You will most likely need to spend some money somewhere along the way. But you do not need any money to start pursuing your passion.

If you are a writer; simply begin writing. It only requires a notebook and a pen.

The same goes for other types of artists.

If your an actor/actress, you can get together with some friends to read through scenes or scripts.

If your a musician, you can jam with your buddies just for fun.

If you really can’t find anyone to do these things with; you can join a Meet Up group. It’s free to join.

Meet Up is basically groups of people who meet up once a week to do some activity they enjoy. There is a group for just about everything. You can join writer groups, play reading groups, painting groups, etc. You simply search for groups in your area and join the group.

Self-doubt #5: You fear being ridiculed.

If you were shamed and ridiculed often as a child; it is very likely that you will be afraid to show your work to anyone for fear of further shame and ridicule.

No matter how talented you are; you will probably be afraid to show your work to the world.

It may look something like this:

*You have written many manuscripts over the years, but they are locked away in your drawer; never to see the light of day.

*You have many paintings and drawings hidden in the back of your closet in order to make sure nobody sees them.

*That guitar you bought several years ago is gathering dust in the back of your closet. You don’t know why you bought it in the first place. Your not sure you can play it anyway.

*You have hundreds of actor/actress pictures & resumes; and you never send them out or submit them.

All those pages you have written or paintings you have created that are hiding in your drawer or in the back of your closet are not doing you any good sitting in there.

The Bible speaks of letting your light shine.

The light we are talking about here is your talent.

The verse is from Matthew 5:15. It may vary a bit depending on which version of the Bible you use. But this is it:

“No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead they put it on it’s stand, so that those who come in may see the light.”

In other words; by not showing your work you are robbing the world of your talent.

Your talent is a gift from God. Using that talent is your gift back to God.

There are some ways you can overcome this toxic shame from childhood.

One way is to do the work on yourself.

This means you can work with a qualified psychotherapist to bring unconscious material into conscious awareness.

It also means working with as much self-help material as possible. Buy self-help books and really work with the material in the books instead of just reading them.

You can also attend self-help groups such as 12-step programs.

Anything you can find that will help you along the road to recovery.

Another way to overcome toxic shame is through forgiveness and compassion for those who may have harmed you in the past.

Forgiveness is not an easy decision. But one that will bring much healing to your own life.

You may not be ready to forgive just yet. And that is okay. Forgiveness comes in its own time.

You may not be able to forgive until you have worked through all of your feelings of hurt and pain from the past.

Everybody’s path is a little different.

Just trust that the path you are on is the right one for you.

What has been your experience with self-doubt? And how did you get around it? Let us know in the comments below. Thanks for reading this post.

Are you so ashamed of some of these experiences that you’d rather just pretend they never happened?

Some of your past experiences may have been so emotionally damaging that you may have repressed them or buried them deep in your subconscious.

Repressing your emotionally disturbing experiences or burying them deep in your subconscious may have allowed you to survive; but at the same time has deluded you into leading an inauthentic life.

It has led you to pretend to be somebody your not in order to be accepted by others.

If you have repressed shaming or emotionally damaging experiences or buried them deep in your subconscious; you are most likely living your life in accordance to what you think will be acceptable to other people. This can be a painful way to live.

This is where therapy comes into play.

Therapy helps you uncover these painful experiences that you have so conveniently brushed under the rug.

These repressed feelings and emotions connected with your damaging experiences has been running your life in a way that causes you more pain and damage.

It also causes you to be blocked and holds you back. We only have so much energy. And if you are using all of your energy to block and repress your experiences, you will not have energy for anything else.

Once you bring these repressed feelings and emotions to the surface you can start healing and living a more authentic life because you will have freed up the energy that you were using to repress your experiences. You will be more consciously aware.

This is in fact one of the goals of psychoanalysis. To make the subconscious conscious. (The other one is to strengthen the ego; in case you were curious).

So what does all this have to do with writing?

Plenty as it turns out.

It is the same process with writing as it is with psychotherapy. You want to expose your wounds; not cover them up.

Why?

Because your wounds are where you will find your writer’s gold! Your experience counts.

Your experiences have made you who you are. It is what makes you unique and different.

No matter how crazy, insane, or damaging your experiences may have been; it is these very experiences that you want to embrace as a writer.

“To be a writer; the only requirement is the ability to remember every scar.”

-Stephen King

So, as a writer you want to embrace these experiences no matter crazy they may be. In fact, the crazier the better.

Good writers will magnify their wounds; not try to cover them up.

In short, as an artist you have not lived an ordinary life. You may even have been shamed for not living a “normal” life. Or getting a “regular” job.

This is okay because an ordinary life is not the stuff books are made from.

Art is not ordinary.

Art is extraordinary.

We do not go to see movies or read books to experience the ordinary.

We go to see movies and read books to experience the extraordinary.

So if you have had a lot of hard knocks and harrowing experiences it has been a blessing in disguise because you now have a treasure chest of ideas and experiences that will make for fascinating reading.

Even if these experiences were horrible when you were going through them; they have given you the gift of many great story ideas.

Not only will your harrowing experiences make for great reading; writing about them will also be therapeutic for you.

Writing about your experiences is empowering and healing.

You will be touching your readers on a deep emotional level.

Your experiences may resonate with a lot of your readers. They may have had similar experiences themselves and reading about them could be healing for them as well.

If you are a fiction writer, you could apply your experience to one of your main characters.

If you are a non-fiction writer, you can use your experience to help others. Perhaps in the form of a self-help book.

Do you think your life experiences can make you a better writer? And why? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

]]>http://writersthumbprint.com/2016/10/18/a-writers-treasure-digging-within-for-gold/feed/0How Writers Can Move Past Fear Of Negative Comments And Get On With Their Writinghttp://writersthumbprint.com/2016/10/11/how-writers-can-move-past-fear-of-negative-comments-and-get-on-with-their-writing/
http://writersthumbprint.com/2016/10/11/how-writers-can-move-past-fear-of-negative-comments-and-get-on-with-their-writing/#respondTue, 11 Oct 2016 19:28:57 +0000http://writersthumbprint.com/?p=169

Is fear of receiving negative comments or reviews from readers stopping you from publishing your blog posts or books?

Or is fear or receiving negative, rude, or nasty comments preventing you from starting your writing project altogether?

You may for example want to start a blog; but are so fearful of being attacked with negative comments from readers that it prevents you from even getting started in the first place.

I have heard of writers and authors being so devastated from a negative review or comment that it stopped them from writing altogether for a long time, or discouraged them so badly that they basically stopped writing altogether.

Fear of being attacked with nasty rude comments isn’t all that uncommon among writers, bloggers, and authors.

We cannot however let these negative commenters stop us from writing or from even getting starting in the first place.

When I first started out as a free-lance writer several years ago I got a very rude nasty e-mail from a reader attacking me for an article I had written. I felt shocked at how blatantly rude this person was. Just “screaming and raging” at me for something she disagreed with.

It was a horrible feeling. I felt as if my very being was being attacked. I was stunned that somebody could be this rude and ignorant.

I really didn’t know how to handle it, as I was a novice free-lance writer at the time. I thought I had to respond to this nasty commenter. I responded in a very polite manner. And now I regret that I did. I felt angrier at myself for responding to this troll than I was at the nasty comment itself. Lesson learned: I now know I do not have to respond to nasty rude commenters. They don’t deserve my time or attention.

Learn from my mistakes. Do not give these internet trolls that kind of power. Or any kind of power for that matter.There is nothing wrong with disagreeing with something someone has written; or having an opposing viewpoint.

However, there is a way to approach it. You do not just start attacking the person and bombarding them with nasty rude comments.

You simply state what you disagree with and why.

Constructive criticism and opposing viewpoints are perfectly okay and acceptable. We can always learn something from constructive criticism. And opposing viewpoints may help us to see an issue from another perspective.

Attacking someone with negative rude comments however is not acceptable. Nobody benefits from nasty commenters. Just ignore them; as they do not deserve your time and attention.

The first order of business is to recognize these negative commenters for who and what they are. When you become aware of where these negative commenters are coming from your fear will subside to some extent.

So who are these readers that dish out nasty rude comments and reviews?

One of the most common types of readers that leave nasty comments or reviews are The Haters. The haters are angry people. The haters will hate on anybody. If they can’t get a reaction from you; they will move on to the next blogger, writer, or author.

One thing to remember is that nasty rude comments are ultimately about the commenter. It is not about anything you wrote.

These people are just so angry that they are looking for any excuse to take their anger out on someone or something.

Your blog post or book just happened to be in their path, so they decided to take their anger out on you and your blog post or book. They usually don’t even really care about what you have written; whey just want to rage at someone. They need an excuse to act out their anger. And just about any excuse will do.

They are looking to get a reaction from you.

These angry people usually attack you rudely with a “how dare you” attitude. This is unacceptable and you do not need to respond to these people. Hit the delete button if it is in your control to do so. Or just ignore them.

Then there are The Criticizers. The criticizers are insecure people. They need to put you down to feel good about themselves. There is nothing wrong with constructive criticism as discussed earlier. But the criticizers do just one thing. And that is criticize.

They need to criticize other people to compensate for some perceived inadequacy in themselves.

Some of them may even want to be writers themselves and are afraid to take the risk of starting their own blog or writing their own book. So, they have to put you down in order to compensate for their own fear and anxiety about becoming a writer. Because you were brave enough to accomplish what they could not.

Criticizers may also be afraid of being criticized themselves. Which is one reason they might feel the need to criticize other people.

Now that we have covered some ways you can deal with nasty rude commenters; it’s time to look at some of the ways you can deal with legitimate negative reviews.

Legitimate negative reviews are those that fall in the categories of constructive criticism and opposing view points. Even though these comments are not nasty or rude; they can still be hard to take.

Dealing with legitimate negative reviews requires a shift in your mind set; just as we have done with the nasty commenters. Except this time, we are going to learn how to see negative comments in a positive way.

Your first reaction to a negative review is likely to be that of disappointment.

However, by shifting your awareness to a positive mind set you can see how negative reviews can be beneficial to you as a writer.

Here are a few ways that negative reviews can be looked at in a positive light.

Negative reviews can be a good if they are mixed with some positive reviews. It means your work is affecting readers on an emotional level. Mixed reviews show that your writing is stirring up a lot of different feelings in your readers. Your readers are emotionally engaged in your book. All positive reviews may not be the best thing. Mixed reviews show that your are engaging readers at an emotional level. This is what you want.

Negative reviews also show that at least people are reading your books or blog posts. Some authors, writers, and bloggers don’t even get that much. Nobody is reading their blog posts or books. At least your work is being recognized.

Negative reviews show that you are taking risks. You were brave enough to write and publish your blog post or book; which very few people accomplish. It is estimated that about 82% of people say they want to write a book; but in fact, only about 1% of people can accomplish this. So you have already accomplished what most people never dare to do. Now that’s something to be proud of!

You can learn how to improve your writing from negative reviews. Pay attention to negative reviews because they will tell you what you need to work on in your writing. They will show you what you could have done better. You will know how to improve your writing for your next book. The one star reviewers are actually doing you a favor by showing you how you can improve your writing.

Have you ever had to deal with nasty rude comments from readers? How did you handle it? Let us know in the comments below.

Many of us have either been there at one time or another; or are there right now. This is especially true for new writers and authors.

If you are a new writer who has just completed your book, you are probably struggling with finances. You may need to hire an editor and/or a book cover designer; and some of us have little to no financial resources for these services.

While struggling financially can be difficult and frustrating; there are some benefits to being broke believe it or not.

Here are 7 ways writers can benefit from being broke.

Being broke forces you to be more creative. If you have little to no financial resources, you will have to find more creative ways to get what you need. “Necessity is the mother of all invention.”, as the saying goes. (Originally coined by Plato). You might even end up creating your own method or way of doing something that you can eventually teach or sell to other writers and authors.

You will learn more about yourself and just how resourceful you can be. With little to no financial resources, you will have to find less expensive or even free alternatives to complete your project. This is where your resourcefulness comes in. As I’m sure you can imagine, it takes quite a bit of resourcefulness to find cheaper and less expensive ways of doing things. Being broke will help you discover an inner strength you didn’t know you had before. You will know you can handle just about any situation. You will realize you are stronger than you thought you were. You might even discover some talents you never knew you had before. For instance, if you don’t have any resources to hire a book cover designer; you may decide to learn how to do this yourself. This will of course be another skill you can use to your advantage. There are some free and low cost resources you can use to create book covers. On Fiverr you can hire a designer for as little as $5.00. Pixabayis another site where you can use free images for anything you want. Amazon also has a free book cover designer if you are publishing your book there. And you can also create your own designs for free at Canva. These alternatives may not be as good as hiring a professional book cover designer; but when you are first starting out you may need to use some of these less expensive alternatives. And as I mentioned, you may even discover you have the talent to do it yourself!

Your sense of self worth will increase. You will come to realize that you are a valuable human being just for who your are. You are not valuable because you have money or success, or because of what you do. You are valuable just for being who you are. Money and success are just icing on the cake. When you value and love yourself for who you are; money and success will come to you more easily. You are a valuable human being regardless of how little or how much money and success you have.

Motivation. Being broke acts as a motivator. If you already have enough money and resources, you many not be motivated to do anything. Being broke will give you the incentive to take action. Action is always what gets things accomplished.

Being broke will push you to be more social. When you are broke you need to reach out to other people for help. You may need to collaborate with others more than usual in order to get your project completed. This is a good thing. You may make important connections that you wouldn’t have otherwise made if you weren’t reaching out. You never know who other people might know or what connections they might have. You may even form close friendships with some of your connections. And who knows, you might even meet your soul mate!

Gratitude. You will begin to have gratitude for the things you do have, rather than focusing on what you don’t have. You will come to appreciate the things you already have. When you have gratitude for the things you already have; more good will come into your life. If you make a list of all the things you’re grateful for; you will often realize that you have a lot more than you thought you had.

You may experience spiritual and personal growth as a result of being broke. In difficult situations we often need to turn to something Greater than ourselves. You may find that you are being provided with what you need despite being broke. That is because this is a supportive universe. Creativity and spirituality are closely linked. As long as you are following your path and being true to yourself, you will be provided with what you need. You will realize this one truth: Godsupports artists!

What are some of the ways you get by when you are experiencing financial difficulties? We would love to hear about it in the comments below.

If you are reading this blog chances are you are an aspiring author who would love to write a book, but you have no idea how to get started.

In this blog post I will present 3 different ways you can find a topic for your first book. Or even your next book if that is the case.

The first thing you need in order to write your book of course is an idea for a book topic.

What kind of book will you write? What will the topic of you book be? How do you come up with a topic for your book?

There are many different ways you can go about finding a topic idea for your book. Here I will present just a few of them. These methods apply mainly to non-fiction writers. However, fiction writers may find something of value in these tips as well.

Tip #1. You may have heard many times; write what you know. This is an excellent starting point. You can only write what you know. And don’t forget to add your imagination. This is especially true for fiction writers.

Imagination is more important than knowledge.

-Albert Einstein

Start by looking at what you are passionate about. What are your interests? What do you love to do? What are you good at? What are you knowledgeable about?

One way you can go about this is by making a three column chart on a piece of paper. In the first column list all your passions. In the second column list everything you’re knowledgeable about. And in the third column you will list any items that are in both the passion and knowledge columns. This third column is your book topic column. This will give you an idea of some of the topics you can write about. You may want to write about a topic you have an interest in, but have little or no knowledge about. If this is the case, then obviously you will need to do more research or gain more experience before you can write about it.

Tip #2. Another way to find a book topic is to do some research on Amazon. Look in the categories of the types of books you are interested in writing. See what other authors are writing about that topic. Read some of the book descriptions to get an idea of what you could write about. Sometimes there is an idea in the book description that could be the focus of a whole book topic. This is true about the table of contents as well. A whole book could be written about one idea that the author has broken down into chapters.

You can also look for what might be missing in other books on your potential topic. Again read the book description and read as much as you can in the “Look Inside” feature on Amazon. See if you can find what’s missing in these books. If you can find what the author might have left out of his/her book, you can use the missing information as the topic of your own book.

One other way you can get book topic ideas on Amazon is by looking at the one star reviews. The one star reviews will tell you what is missing in these books. This missing information could be the subject of your new book. Also pay attention to other aspects of one star reviews. Comments such as “author was too repetitive”, “To much information crammed into too little space”, “formatting was not correct”, “book was an advertisement for author’s paying products”, etc., etc., etc.

These comments are clues for the things that you should avoid with your own book. If you have already started your book you may need to edit the material you already started. If for example you find that you are cramming too much information into your book, you may need to edit it and approach it in another more concise way.

Another words, learn from the mistakes other authors have made with their books.

Tip #3. Another way to get a book topic idea is to listen to what other people are saying. What do people complain about the most? What questions do they want answered? These could be clues to your first or next book topic.

If you have a blog, read the comments from your readers. This will give you an idea of what kind of information they are looking for. If you don’t have your own blog, look at other blogs that are similar to your niche and see what their readers are saying in the comment section of their blog. Your readers will usually give you clues to the kind of information they are looking for by the questions they ask. Also look for common threads in your reader’s comments. You can get a lot of book ideas just from paying attention to what other people are saying or commenting on.

These are just a few of the ways you can find a topic for your first or next book. There are many other ways of course.

How do you go about finding a topic for your book? Please share your tips with us in the comments below.

The hardest part of anything is getting started. This is one of the main reasons we procrastinate. Because we know getting started is a huge process. It involves a lot of hard work and preparation. The thought of all that work and preparation usually stops us dead in our tracks. We decide to put it off for yet another time. And we writers are notoriously known for being procrastinators.

The thought of completing that novel or getting started with a blog is a huge project and we want to avoid it. We will do anything to avoid putting pen to paper. We will find some excuse to avoid writing. We will find an “emergency” that needs to be attended to right now.

So what is behind this procrastination? What is stopping you from being the writer you always wanted to be?

First there are the practical day to day activities that need to be taken care of. We may for instance have day jobs, kids to look after, families, laundry, errands to run, and so forth. These are some of the activities that may be getting in the way of our writing. We usually have little control over these activities; as they must be done on a daily basis. Writing is a very detailed and time consuming activity. Even though we may love to write, these other issues need to be taken care of and cannot be avoided.

Luckily there are practical solutions to these outer activities that get in the way of our writing. If you have a lot of responsibilities during the day and just can’t find time to write, one solution could be getting up an hour earlier than you usually do and use that time to write when the house is quiet and nobody is around to disturb you. You could even take just 15 minutes a day to write. Even just 15 minutes a day adds up over time. The important thing is to be consistent. Choose a time for your writing; and make sure that everyone knows this is your time that you take for yourself. Basically you can schedule your time around your day to day activities.

We may not have any control over the outside world and how it interferes with our writing. However, there are things in our own psyche that may be preventing us from writing. These are mental and emotional blocks that are experienced by most, if not all of us from time to time. Some of them you may be consciously aware of; and some of them may be subconscious. You may not be aware you are even doing them.

Writers can block their own progress in a variety of ways.

Here are 5 ways that writers often block their own progress and some suggestions on how you can counteract them.

Block #1: The broken record. You keep repeating to yourself the one word that is a writer’s worst enemy. What do you think this word is?

Well….Here it is

↓

Someday

That’s right…This one word is a writer’s worst enemy. And do you know why?

*Because someday never comes.

It usually takes this form:

Someday I will…..

write a book

start a blog

start a business

take a class

etc., etc., etc.

Someday will never come. And if you want to get real technical, the dictionary definition of someday is: At an indefinite future time.

Counteraction:

One way to counteract the someday syndrome is to make up your mind to do it today. Because today is all you have. Even just five minutes a day, if that’s all you have time for is good enough. That five minutes will add up over time.

Block #2: The perfection trap. You are waiting for everything to be perfect before you begin your project. There is never a “right time” to do something or start something. If you are waiting for everything to be perfect, you will never do it. The perfectionist mind set usually looks something like this:

When the time is right I will _______.

When all my other issues or problems are cleared up or solved, then I will be able to _______.

As soon as I do ______; then I will be able to _______.

I am waiting for ______; then I will be able to ______.

When ______ happens; then I will be able to ______.

You may also be afraid to start because you think your work has to be perfect in order for you to put it out there. This is not true at all. You do need to put forth your best effort; but it does not have to be 100% perfect in order for you to move forward.

Counteraction:

Recognize that done is better than perfect. You have to start with something; and it will never be complete if you are trying to make it perfect. People will have different ideas about what constitutes “perfect” anyway. How do you know when it’s “perfect”? Just put forth your best effort and complete your project. It may not be 100% perfect; but it will be DONE! Done is better than perfect. It bears repeating. You may even want to tape these words near your computer or work space to remind you of its importance. Progress; not perfection.

Block #3: The lucky break. You have completed your project. Now you are waiting for your “lucky break”. Chances are you will be waiting a very long time, because there is no such thing as a lucky break or an overnight success. Success does not come from leaving it all to chance. You can not just complete a project and hope people will find it. As with someday; the lucky break will never come.

Counteraction:

Success come from small consistent actions over time. You take small steps consistently, even when you don’t see immediate results. These actions do not have to be complicated. Actions can be as simple as tweeting once a day. Whatever it is you chose to do ; the key is to do it consistently. These small consistent actions over time are what will lead to success. “Luck” is simply preparedness meeting opportunity.

Preparedness + Opportunity = Success

Block #4: The negative mind set. Your mind is filled with negative beliefs and doubts about your ability as a writer. This usually looks something like this:

Am I really a good writer?

Am I even a writer at all?

Who am I to call myself a writer?

I’m not as good as all the other writers out there.

My writing pales in comparison to that of other writers.

The negative mind set will keep you stuck. If you have negative mind clutter and doubts about your ability as a writer you will be stuck in the rut of a “what’s the sense” attitude. You will wonder what the sense of even getting started is if you will not be able to write as good as other writers. If your work will not be as good as everyone else’s, what’s the sense in even getting started you might think. A negative mind set will get you nowhere.

Counteraction:

To counteract a negative mindset; you need to cultivate a positive mindset. There are a variety of ways you can cultivate a positive mind set. You have to make a conscious choice to change your mindset. One way to create a positive mindset is with meditation. Even just five minutes of meditation a day can clear your mind of clutter. You can also write and say positive affirmations every day. Some positive affirmations you can use are:

I am a good writer.

My story is unique.

Nobody can tell my story like I can.

There are dozens of affirmations to choose from. You can even make up your own to counteract the negative thoughts that are the most dominant for you. It’s also important to surround yourself with positive people who build you up and encourage you. Having supportive people in your life if very important. Toxic people will bring you down and block your progress. Surround yourself with positive safe people.

Block #5: Attachment. You may be attached to how you think things are suppose to work out. When you are attached to an idea of how you think things should work out, you block the flow of something better coming into your life. For an example, let’s say you wrote a novel and now want to have it published. You are absolutely certain that your book must be published by X Publishing. You know without a doubt that publishing your book with X Publishing will bring you huge success. So you block out any other opportunities to get your book published. You focus only on trying to get published with X Publishing. What you have done is you have blocked the flow of something better working out for you.

Counteraction:

Let go of your attachment to how you think things are suppose to work out. The Universe works in mysterious ways. When you let go of your attachment to how you think things are supposed to work out; the Universe will bring it to you in more magnificent ways than you could ever imagine or think of on your own. The only part ever that is yours is to take the ACTION. The Universe will take care of the rest.

What do you do to counteract blocks to your progress? Please share your tips in the comments below.